Chocolate and sugar free "Hot Chocolate"

I am currently on some heavy diet restrictions due to medications that I am on. Last night I had a craving for hot chocolate and I managed to create a yummy substitute!

1 1/2 cups milk of your choice (I used homemade coconut milk)
1 tbsp. carob powder
1 scant tbsp. xylitol
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp ground vanilla beans
Put all ingredients in a small pot and heat on stove with medium heat. Serve warm. It's not quite the same as chocolate but still really yummy!

Paleo Chunky Monkey Cake

I originally found this recipe here although the recipe was for cookies, not cake. I decided to tweak the recipe and turn the batter into a cake instead. My husband couldn't believe that it didn't contain any grains, it had the texture of cake made with wheat, and was moist and fluffy!

1 cup sunflower butter or other nut or seed butter (I used my homemade sunflower-coconut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
3 tbsp my homemade Nutella or any chocolate nut spread
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients except pecans, until well mixed. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake about 25-30 minutes, until done.

*Note* The Nutella recipe does use coconut sugar and maple syrup but could be adapted to use honey if desired to stay away from all sugar.
*Note* The banana can be changed to any fruit or veggie that is good in baked goods. I have made this recipe with shredded zucchini (1/2 cup or more if desired). I think pumpkin, apple sauce or grated carrots would also work nicely. I have also made this nut free by replacing the Nutella with extra sunflower butter and 1 tbsp cocoa powder! I love this very versatile recipe!

Canned Tomato Sauce

3 ice cream pails of tomatoes
2 1/2 lbs onions
2 green peppers
1 or 2 red peppers
2 medium zucchini (optional)
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 cup sugar
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp parsley flakes
2 tbsp basil
4 bay leaves
36 oz tomato paste

Blend tomatoes in a blender (saves you from peeling all the tomatoes). Add diced or blended onions, zucchini and peppers (depending if you want chunks in your sauce). Add rest of the ingredients. Simmer for one hour. To sterilise jars, place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 225 F, heat jars for 20 minutes once oven is at correct temperature. Put sauce in hot jars and place in water bath canner. Can the pint jars for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes. Times may change depending on altitude. Take out of canner and let cool. Lids will make a popping sound when they seal and will be concave in the middle. Makes 9 quart jars.

Sourdough Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Sourdough is a great way to make your wheat baking healthier and easier for your body to digest. All it takes is a little more planning ahead to make this delicious recipe! See this post for more info on sourdough muffins.

1 C “discarded” sourdough starter

1 C whole wheat flour

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C melted coconut oil or melted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or crumbled fried bacon

In a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. I added a little water to this in order to mix the flour and starter together. Without the water it was too dry and crumbly. Once the two are thoroughly combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap ensuring that none of it is exposed to the air. Let sit at room temperature for at least seven hours. The longer it sits the more tangy it will become, 7 hours seems a good amount of time. The dough will rise some while it sits. If any of it has gotten exposed to the air and gotten dry, just remove those bits so you don’t have little dough nuggets in your final product. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with papers or grease the cups. In a separate bowl, mix together all other ingredients except for cheese and bacon. Add those ingredients to the dough in the mixer’s bowl and mix together. Fold in cheese and bacon and scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 min. Makes about 12 muffins.

Gluten Free Bacon and Cheese Muffins

I found the original recipe here and of course tweaked it to fit my taste and what I had in the pantry!

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or sliced fried bacon

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup potato starch (tapioca or arrowroot would also work)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar (I used maple sugar)

1/2 teaspoon bacon topper seasoning from Epicure (optional)

1 egg (I used 1 tbsp ground flax and 4 tbsp water to make a flax "egg" and it worked quite nicely)

1 cup milk

Beat egg and milk together very well. Mix all dry ingredients and cheese together. Add wet ingredients to dry ones. Don't overmix. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Aloe Lemonade

Since dealing with health issues lately, I have been on a search for ways to detox my body from toxins and build up my immune system. I have come across a super food that is suppose to aid with these things: aloe vera juice! Add it with lemon juice (which also aids with detoxification and we have a winning combination). I have read that you should start slow with aloe as your body needs to get used to it. I think this is a good way to do it. I am no expert on aloe but am always looking for ways to be healthy. Just make sure you are using organic pure aloe. Not the green stuff that is sold in most stores that is not pure and has been processed.

3 cups cold water

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 oz aloe vera juice

stevia to taste (you may need to blend this in a blender if using powdered stevia)

I like my lemonade tart so I only used a few pinches of dried stevia, but experiment with what you like. You can use sugar if you want, but I am trying to eliminate sugar from my diet.

Berry chocolaty smoothie

1 cup coconut water or your choice of milk
1 tbsp. Nut or seed butter (I used a sunflower and coconut butter)
3 dates
1 tbsp. Chia seeds
1 tbsp. Hemp Hearts
1 tbsp. Cocoa powder
1/2 cup frozen strawberry and mango fruit mix
1/2 cup fresh spinach or kale

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.